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Sesame chicken is a basic American Chinese dish made from marinated, breaded and fried dark-meat chicken tossed in a sauce of cornstarch, sake, oyster sauce, ginger, low-sodium chicken stock, vinegar and sugar. White sesame seeds adorn the chicken, sticking to its thick sauce. A 1-cup serving of Chinese sesame chicken weighing approximately 10 ounces is large but manageable on a balanced diet.

Calories

An average daily value, or DV, for calories is 2,000. Based on that DV, each serving of Chinese sesame chicken has 8 percent of your day’s intake, which is 171 calories. The majority of the calories are from the chicken, but the fried breading and thick sauce contribute too. To keep the calories low, have a side of steamed veggies for about 50 calories per cup instead of white rice, which has about 200 calories per cup.

Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium

Each serving of sesame chicken has 4 grams of fat. A DV for fat is 65 grams; you eat 6 percent with each helping. The saturated fat content is 0.5 gram; a saturated fat DV is 20 grams. Most of the fat is from the oil and some is from the chicken. The chicken is also the main source of the 71 milligrams of cholesterol in each serving. That’s 23 percent of a 300-milligram DV for cholesterol. The sodium, which is about 240 milligrams per cup, is from the sauce. A healthful limit is 2,400 milligrams daily; you eat 10 percent of that in each serving. Too much sodium causes high blood pressure.

Protein, Carbohydrates and Fiber

Chinese sesame chicken has 21 grams of protein per helping. That’s 42 percent of a 50-gram DV. The protein is from the chicken, with minor amounts from the breading. You also eat 12 grams of carbohydrates and less than 0.5 gram of fiber per serving. A carbohydrate DV is 300 grams; each serving has 4 percent of that. A fiber DV is 25 grams.

Vitamins and Minerals

Each helping of Chinese sesame chicken has 1 milligram of iron, which is 5 percent of an 18-milligram DV. Iron is an essential mineral that keeps your blood oxygenated. You also eat 372 milligrams of potassium, or 10 percent of a 3,500-milligram DV, in each cup. Potassium is a mineral that assists in protein synthesis and heart function. Each cup also contains trace amounts of vitamins A, B-6, B-12, C, D and E.

Healthful Tips

Using white-meat chicken instead of dark meat reduces the calories, fat and cholesterol. To cut some more calories and fat, drain the breaded chicken before you toss it with sauce to remove excess oil. Also, don't use full-sodium, canned chicken stock in the sauce. It has nearly 900 milligrams of sodium in a 1-cup serving. If you plan to use soy sauce, choose a low-sodium variety. A 1-tablespoon serving of full-sodium soy sauce has 350 milligrams more sodium than 1 tablespoon of low-sodium soy sauce. Alternately, skip the soy sauce and use wasabi for dipping; it has less than 50 milligrams of sodium per serving.